By Matt Carroll,
The Punch Drill is a great way to get a ton of game-like reps for goalkeepers to work on punching the ball either out of the box or over the bar. The drill starts with a goalkeeper at in the middle of the six-yard box. A coach lines up at the top of the 18 with a ball in hand. The goalkeeper must sprint out to touch the ball. Once they do they then begin their retreat running side on back to their goal. The coach then plays a lofted ball over the top of the goalkeeper between them and the goalmouth. The goalkeeper then must punch with the hand nearest the coach and work to punch the ball over the net. They then reset at the six-yard box and repeat the process.
Next, to make the drill even more game-like when the goalkeeper runs up to the coach a ball is lofted in the air as they approach, the goalkeeper is then tasked to punch into grids created at a distance to either side of the 18. After the ball is punched the goalkeeper then must immediately begin to retreat and a second ball is played over their head just as in the first drill.
To then expand upon the drill the coach dribbles outside the 18 while the goalkeeper shuffles along with them by their goal in order to create the best angle to save. The drill starts as soon as the coach then takes a shot from wherever they are. The goalkeeper will then make a save and throw the ball to the coach who is standing from wherever they took the shot. They then run to the coach who lofts a ball for them to punch into one of the grids. They then retreat and clear a lofted ball played over their shoulder to tip the ball over the bar just as in the first drill.
By Matt Carroll,
